OSLO, Norway (AP) – A 20-year-old Norwegian student has been arrested on suspicion of spying for Russia and Iran while working as a security guard at the U.S. Embassy in Oslo, authorities in Norway said.
The man, who has not been identified, was ordered to remain in custody for four weeks. He runs a security company linked to both Norway and an unidentified eastern European country, according to Norwegian public broadcaster NRK.
Oslo police said on Friday they will check the company’s operating license.
Norway’s intelligence agency, PST, said Thursday evening that the man was arrested in his garage at home on Wednesday on charges of undermining national security through his intelligence-related work.
The arrest report from the district court, says, among other things, that the police found the records of the man’s conversation with the person who was leading his spy work, according to NRK.
The man admitted to collecting and sharing information with Russian and Iranian officials, the court report says, according to NRK.
It is too early to talk about the man’s incident, PST spokesman Thomas Blom told a press conference on Thursday evening. PST confirmed that the man worked as a security guard at the US embassy in Oslo. Currently, there are no other accused in this case.
The lawyer of the accused, John Christian Elden, told NRK that the man admits that he worked for another country but does not admit to espionage.
“He is accused of obtaining information that could affect the security of third countries,” said Elden.
It was announced on Friday that the man is studying for a degree in security and preparedness at Norway’s Arctic University, UiT.
It is the second such case at UiT in recent years, according to NRK.
One of the Westerners exchanged with Russia in a major exchange of prisoners in August was a UiT guest researcher who claimed to be Brazilian named José Assis Giammaria, who was arrested on espionage charges in 2022. The police identified him as a Russian, Mikhail Valeryevich Mikushin. .
Norway has a 198-kilometer (123-mile)-long border with Russia in the Arctic. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Norway has severely restricted entry to Russian nationals.
In September, the Norwegian government said it was considering plans to build a fence along or part of its border with Russia.